Les Crane killers remain at large more than 7 years after murder

Les Crane was gunned down in his Laytonville home just after 2 a.m. on November 18, 2005, and his murder remains an open case today.

Crane was 39 when he was killed; he arrived in the Mendocino County area only a few years before his death.

Family friends told media at the time, Crane had arrived in Mendocino County with "$100 and a dog" after the passage of Measure G, the marijuana initiative. He turned this small stake into two marijuana dispensaries, one in Laytonville and one in Ukiah.

According to the official Mendocino County press release, four masked men armed with guns and a baseball bat broke into Crane's home at 2 a.m. The intruders beat two persons also present in the home with the bat, while Crane was shot and killed. The motive for the invasion was determined to be robbery "as the intruders stole processed marijuana and US currency from a safe inside the residence."

Crane's companions who survived the home invasion on County Road 307 were somewhat more forthcoming about the details. Jennifer Drewry and Sean Dirlam, a.k.a The Count, were asleep in different rooms in the home when the invaders broke in.

Drewry told the media at the time she awakened to the sound of footsteps as four to six men dressed in black broke down the front door yelling, "This is a raid, this is a raid."

She said, first one of the men walked in and began to beat Dirlam as he slept; when she opened her bedroom door one of the men not wearing a mask hit her over the head.

"I was on my hands and knees praying to God, too loud I guess, so the one guy told him to shoot me, but he missed, and then I heard five or six other gunshots. I was too scared to look up after that, so I waited until it was quiet, and then I ran into Les' room. He was lying there; he could still talk. There was a lot of blood.

"The Count was hiding, talking to 911. It had to be 15 minutes before anyone showed up. It was a long time I was out of my mind," said Drewry to a Ukiah Daily Journal reporter.

"As he was breathing...after he had been shot several times, I asked him, 'Who did this to you?' and he said, 'They came to see The Count today.'"

Drewry's arm was broken in the assault. She said Crane was shot in the back of his head, in the arm and his abdomen. Dirlam suffered facial injuries.

Several of Crane's friends told reporters they were convinced at least one of the invaders knew the layout of the residence, and sheriff's deputies at the time agreed with their suspicions.

In May 2002, deputies raided Crane's property, seizing 5,000 marijuana plants and $6,000 in gold. He told reporters at the time that deputies raided him after he called police about an attempt to rob his house. Crane said they took all his information about the attempted robbery and then came back with a search warrant. Crane said he filed charges to get his marijuana and gold back.

Then-District Attorney Norm Vroman filed marijuana cultivation charges in October 2002, denying any prior agreement with Crane. Crane was arraigned on November 8, just days before his murder.

Anyone with information regarding the murder of Leslie Crane is asked to contact the Sheriff's Office Tip-Line by calling 234-2100.